Buford
Well-Known Member
Man, I had no luck today. I was attempting to make a roggenbier.
First sign of trouble was a stuck mash. It's okay, I can deal with that - it's just a real pain in the ass.
Next issue - the heatstick pops the GFCI outlet's breaker during the boil. I check it with a multimeter, but everything seems to be kosher with the wiring. I reset the outlet and use another heatstick instead. However... the first heatstick's element is covered in black burnt crud. Uh oh.
I finish out the boil, and the second heatstick's element is also coated in black crud. This didn't happen at all with last week's brew, a hefeweizen. The wort does seem to have a burnt smell to it, but I can't tell if it's scorching of if that's just what rye smells like. I've never used it before, and it made up 50% of the grist. I start the chiller.
Chiller takes forever, and even with all the ice in the freezer I can only get to 80. Whatever.
Sample the wort. Definitely tastes odd. Can't tell if it's burnt or if that's just a quality of the rye. Hell if I know. There are black burnt bits scattered all over the bottom of the pot. Debate dumping it and just saving the yeast for another day... decide to give it a shot.
Grab the starter flask, and... something isn't right. It had blown its top several times on the stirplate over the past few days and I had to keep replacing the foam stopper. Oh boy. Vinegar. :cross: Smells just like vinegar. Take a taste... sour. The starter just decided for me... it's dumping time.
Man, that was a lot of work today with nothing to show for it. At least one good thing came of it, I guess... I did a decoction and managed for the first time to actually nail the amounts I needed to get the temps right upon adding it back to the main mash. At least that's something I guess.
First sign of trouble was a stuck mash. It's okay, I can deal with that - it's just a real pain in the ass.
Next issue - the heatstick pops the GFCI outlet's breaker during the boil. I check it with a multimeter, but everything seems to be kosher with the wiring. I reset the outlet and use another heatstick instead. However... the first heatstick's element is covered in black burnt crud. Uh oh.
I finish out the boil, and the second heatstick's element is also coated in black crud. This didn't happen at all with last week's brew, a hefeweizen. The wort does seem to have a burnt smell to it, but I can't tell if it's scorching of if that's just what rye smells like. I've never used it before, and it made up 50% of the grist. I start the chiller.
Chiller takes forever, and even with all the ice in the freezer I can only get to 80. Whatever.
Sample the wort. Definitely tastes odd. Can't tell if it's burnt or if that's just a quality of the rye. Hell if I know. There are black burnt bits scattered all over the bottom of the pot. Debate dumping it and just saving the yeast for another day... decide to give it a shot.
Grab the starter flask, and... something isn't right. It had blown its top several times on the stirplate over the past few days and I had to keep replacing the foam stopper. Oh boy. Vinegar. :cross: Smells just like vinegar. Take a taste... sour. The starter just decided for me... it's dumping time.
Man, that was a lot of work today with nothing to show for it. At least one good thing came of it, I guess... I did a decoction and managed for the first time to actually nail the amounts I needed to get the temps right upon adding it back to the main mash. At least that's something I guess.